BILBAO.- To celebrate International Museum Day this week, Jon Kortajarena, Itziar Ituño, and Ernesto Valverde share with the public their favourite pieces from the Collection of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.

Due to the present circumstances that make the Museum’s traditional gesture of free admission not possible this year, the Guggenheim Bilbao will celebrate International Museum Day in an alternative way. This year the Museum has created three videos with successful non-artworld professionals from different fields, Jon Kortajarena, Itziar Ituño, and Ernesto Valverde who discuss their favourite artworks from the Collection and why.

Actress Itzia Ituño has selected Jenny Holzer’s 1997 Installation for Bilbao. Made up of nine vertical LED signboards, the site-specific work was created for the Museum’s gallery 101. Known for her roles in productions such as Loreak or Money Heist (La Casa De Papel), Ituño explains in her video why she chose Installation for Bilbao: “the first time I saw it, it made me think of the rain, a rain of words and phrases rising from the floor and drenching me”.

Actor and international model Jon Kortajarena, a regular supporter and visitor of the Guggenheim Bilbao, reveals in his video why he chose Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Man from Naples (1982). In his own words, “it’s a painting full of ironic messages that reminds me of New York City in the 1980s.”

Finally, Museum Member, former football player and Manager, Ernesto Valverde accepted this challenge and has highlighted the works of painter and sculptor Anselm Kiefer (part of the Museum’s permanent collection), as his favourite artworks, including, The Renowned Orders of the Night (1997). Valverde states “This is something we have all felt, especially on a clear summer night beneath the sky full of stars.”

#GuggenheimBilbaoLive
This is part of the initiative #GuggenheimBilbaoLive that the Museum has been developing through its website and social media since the temporary closure last March. In order to offer some inspiration during the challenging weeks of confinement, every week the Museum is creating and sharing new videos, and also interactive workshops with the collaboration of artists in the section #ElMuseoEnFamiliaConBBK. Anyone wishing to receive this content in their email and access other advantages for free can do so by joining the Museum’s Community of art and culture lovers on our website. Community currently boasts over 60.000 Museum Friends and Followers.